1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to muzzle devices for firearms, and more particularly to dually adjustable, personalized stabilizers and flash suppressors for firearms.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Muzzle brakes for firearms have been utilized for many years and many are well known. Probably one of the best known muzzle brakes is the Cutts Compensator which came into relatively wide use around 1930. The Cutts Compensator is described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,636,357, entitled ANTICLIMBING DEVICE, to Cutts and, as shown in this patent, comprises a body having a set of parallel anti-climbing slots through which escaping gases are forced by the pressure in the body. The Cutts anti-climbing slots are all parallel and are shown slanted toward the rear of the weapon and thus toward the firer. Additional sets of opposing laterally disposed parallel slots which also slant towards the firer provide anti-recoil gas ejectment forces. The Cutts patent teaches rotatable adjustment to control the direction of the escaping gas force solely to obtain traversing fire. There are several distinct disadvantages to the Cutts device. Significantly, because of the rearward slanting of the slots, the escaping gases tend to blast towards and around the face and hands of the firer. Too, the volume of gases escaping through the slots is not adjustable and can only be controlled by manufacturing bodies of varying sizes and containing different numbers and sizes of slots. Additionally, the cylindrical embodiment, as taught by Cutts in his FIG. 7, is limited to use with low powered guns and short bullets and must be longer than the preferred, tapered embodiment of his FIGS. 1 and 4.
A more recent muzzle attachment is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,413, entitled MUZZLE ATTACHMENT FOR A FIREARM, to Gwinn, in which two lateral opposing slots slant away from the firer. The Gwinn device contains two chambers; gases are trapped and then vented after they have built up to a particular pressure. U.S. Pat. No. 3,187,633, entitled CONTRA-JET MUZZLE BRAKE FOR FIREARMS, to Tanabe, teaches a muzzle brake having both circumferentially disposed slots, providing turbulence-producing, intersecting gas jets, and an explosion gas-trapping annular chamber, for reducing gas ejectment forces. The muzzle brake of Tanabe is intended to symmetrically and uniformly reduce muzzle blast effects and gas ejectment forces. U.S. Pat. No. 2,796,005, entitled RIFLE CONTROL TUBE, to Shapel, shows a muzzle brake having a pair of concentric inner and outer cylinders. A set of strategically located, parallel, slanted slots are positioned on top of the outer cylinder. This patent teaches that perpendicular slots produce undesirable "muzzle crack." The device of Shapel is not adjustable, is limited to parallel slanted slots and is manufactured in at least two pieces as an expensive two-concentric cylinder structure.
Although anti-climbing and anti-recoil devices are part of an old and well developed art, none of these muzzle attachment devices is readily adjustable in the field for individual user preferences or changes in ammunition used for amount and direction of gas ejectment. Too, none provides any indicia or other means of indicating an adjustment position, or that a selected or previously determined setting has been obtained.
Other patents typify developments in the field of muzzle attachments to firearms. U.S. Pat. No. 2,110,165, entitled MACHINE GUN, to Moore, teaches a type of muzzle device for machine guns that enhances the rearward recoil in order to compensate for a massive bolt and barrel arrangement. The Moore patent discloses a plug which is inserted into the end of a barrel of a weapon, allowing escaping gases to impinge thereon. This device enhances the recoil rather than diminishing or controlling the effects of recoil. U.S. Pat. No. 2,340,821, entitled SHOT SPREADING DEVICE, to Russell, discloses an extension of the barrel inside of an attached compensator to provide rifling for shotguns. The Russell device spreads the shot pattern after the shot wad leaves the muzzle by imparting a rotary motion to the shot wad. This device can be slightly separated from the muzzle, but allows only a limited lateral expansion of gases.